Tech Help to Troubleshoot a PowerShot A550 Canon Camera
- 1). Check for power problems. As simple as it sounds, the batteries are the most common source of power-up problems. Make sure they are installed according to the directions on battery cover with positive ends matching positive contacts. If you haven't used the camera for a long time, they may have corroded slightly. Wipe the contacts on the battery with a clean cloth and reload them. Replace the batteries if problems persist.
- 2). Check the LCD screen. When the camera is turned on, the LCD display will either display what is seen through the lens or the most recent picture you took. A black display may not be a malfunction; the A550 has an option to toggle the LCD screen on and off to save battery power. Press the "DISP" button to activate the screen. The display sometimes flickers when shooting in fluorescent light as the sensor tries to adjust to the light levels. These flashes won't be recorded on your photos.
- 3). Take a few pictures and review them, looking for a few common problems with point-and-shoot cameras. Your images will have digital noise (white flecks distributed evenly across the picture) when you take pictures in low light on auto mode. The camera "fills" the darker areas of the picture with created light, causing noise. This is less a malfunction than a limitation of the camera. You can lower the ISO speed to 200 or 400 and shoot with a tripod and the camera's self timer to allow a longer exposure. This only works for static images; it's nearly impossible to capture movement in low light with this camera.
- 4). Check pictures for darkness and distortions. Dark images are mostly connected to light levels and camera settings. You can adjust the exposure values (the "+/-" setting) to compensate for this, but only to a certain degree. As mentioned, blurriness and noise are normal consequences of low-light shooting, but large flecks aren't normal. The same distortion on multiple pictures indicates a dirty lens. You can use a clean, dry cloth or a Q-tip to remove the dust.
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